Filler feeding mechanism for sewing machines



Dec, 112, 1956 v.1 SIGODA 5 9 FILLER FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed April 5, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l A Illllllll, F illlllll IN VEN TOR. I/lCTO/t 1/. 5/600A Dec E12, 1950 v. J. SIGQDA 2,33,293

FILLER FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Illlllf INVENTOR. /c 70,? 1/5/600A A TTOIQ/VEYS.

Dec, 12,, I950 v. J. SIGODA 2,533,293

FILLER FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Dec, H2 1195!) v. J. SIGODA 2,533,293

FILLER FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed April 5', 1948 4 Sheets-$heet 4 INVENTOR.

MC 70/? d 5/ 600A A TTOR/VEYS Patented Dec. 12, 1950 FILLER FEEDING MECHANISM FOR SEWING MACHINES Victor J. Sigoda, Great Neck, N. Y., assignor to Man-Sew Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 5, 1948,. Serial No. 18,953

This invention relates to sewing machines, more particularly to that type of machine useful for producing ornamental stitching and incorporating the essential features of the well-known vibrating needle or zigzag machine.

The principal object of this invention is to provide improved filler-feeding mechanism for feeding or guiding a filler thread or the like into the line of stitching and underneath the stitches.

More specific objects of the invention are:

(a) To provide mechanism for feeding a, filler in such manner that it is successively drawn to one side and then to the other of the line of stitching prior to the formation of successive stitches;

- (b) To provide such mechanism capable of incorporation in existing machines as an attachment thereto without alteration of their basic structure; and

' (c) To provide a filler-feeder which is capable of being moved laterally as a unit to follow the line of stitching in a machine adapted to shift the needle laterally to form a pattern, without affecting the operation of the filler-feeder.

Other objects of the invention will in part appear and in part be obvious from the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment of the invention taken in conjuction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a sewing machine of the zigzag type incorporating the filler-feeding mechanism of the invention in conjunction with pattem-control mechanism;

2 is a rear elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1, part of the housing for the auxiliary mechanism being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the filler-feeding mechanism showing its relationship to other parts of the machine some of which are shown in section;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the machine of Fig. 1 as seen from the left end of that figure; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken. substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

The filler-feeding mechanism of the present invention and the pattern-forming attachment with which it is associated, are shown as applied to a. Singer type 143W1 machine. Referring to Fig. 1, this machine has the usual base 20, pedestal 2|, arm 22 and head 2.4. Extending horizontally within the arm, as shown in Fig. 5, is the usual main shaft 25,. having a drive-wheel 26 at one end and connected at the'other end within thehead 24; with the usual mechanism for. recip- 9 Claims. (01. 112-98) rocating the needle-bar 28 which passes through a laterally shiftable guide frame 29 pivoted at its upper end in the usual manner within the head 24. A vertically movable presser foot bar 30 is also mounted in head 24 in the usual way and carries the :presser foot 3| at its lower end. The machine is provided with the usual tension devices 32 for the needle thread and with an auxiliary tension device 33 for a filler thread 34, the latter being fed through a guide 35 (Fig. 4) to the filler-feeder generally indicated by the numeral 36.

Fastened to the back of arm 22 is a housing 38 in which is mounted, parallel to main shaft 25, a cam shaft 39 to which is fixed a pattern cam 40 and a worm gear 4| adapted to-be driven by a worm 42. The worm is mounted on the end of a transverse shaft 44 which is somewhatlonger than and replaces the corresponding shaft with which the machine is originally equipped. Motion is imparted to this shaft from drive shaft 25 through a pair of spiral gears 45 and 46 (Fig. 5) which may have the usual. ratio of 2 to 1 so that the transverse shaft 44 rotates once for each two revolutions of main shaft 25. The Worm 42 and worm gear 4| may have, for example, a ratio of 24 to 1 so that the shaft 39 makes one revolution for each 48 revolutions of shaft 25. It will be understood that each revolution of shaft 25 forms one complete stitch. Cam 40 therefore revolves once during each 48 stitches. Obviously these gear ratios may be changed as may be desired.

Also mounted on the transverse shaft 44 is an 3 adjustable eccentric of known construction, generally indicated at 48. As is well known, this eccentric produces the vibratory motion which shifts the needle from side-to-side to form zig zag stitches and, since it forms no part of the present invention, no description need be given of its details of construction or the means for adjusting it. It is sufficient for present purposes to note that eccentric 48 has a driving connection through a connecting rod 64 with the upper end of a link 66 to which is connected a pitman 68 which is attached to the needle-bar guide frame 29.

The lower end of link 66 is fulcrumed on they end. of anarm 69 which extends from a sleeve 10,

said. sleeve having another arm H which is pro-- 13 in the lower part of housing 38. Rod 14' has a head 15 and. is held stationary by asst-screw Ii.

Sleeve 10 is rotatably' As cam 40 rotates it acts through arm 'II and sleeve to shift arm 69 in accordance with the pattern on the cam 40, thus shifting the fulcrum point of the linkage which produces the vibratory motion of guide 29 to produce a lateral shifting of the working area of the needle independently of its lateral vibration. Also attached at one end to arm'69 is a bar 18 which is attached at its other end to a part of the filler-feeding mechanism, hereinafter described, so that a lateral shifting of said mechanism is produced which corresponds to the lateral shifting of frame 29.

Filler-feeding mechanism drawn to the right prior to the formation of one stitch it will be drawn to the left prior to the formation of the next succeeding stitch. This movement of the filler, depending upon how the mechanism is adjusted, may be in the same direction as the lateral vibration of the needle or in a direction opposite thereto, with a resulting difference in the stitching patterns which are formed. In any case, the lateral swing of the filler-feeder produced by the mechanism about to be described is independent of the magnitude of the bight, in which respect the operation of this invention differs from the operation of the filler-feeding mechanism of my co-pending application Serial No. 753,175, filed June '7, 1947 and which has matured into Patent No. 2,500,211, March 14, 1950, in which the swing of the filler-feeder varies with the bight and becomes zero when the bight is zero.

The filler-feeder, which is generally indicated at 38, is in the form of an angular lever having a laterally extending arm 80 and a downwardly extending arm which comprises the portion BI, integral with the arm 80 which it joins at the hub 82, and the filler guide finger 84. Finger 84 is adjustably held in a socket in the portion 8| by a set-screw 85. As is best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the finger 84 is bent so as to extend forwardly and downwardly in front of the needle 86. The hub 82 of feeder 36 is supported on a horizontal pivot provided by the shouldered screw 88 which is secured to a block 89 fixed on a sliding shaft 9%. This shaft is slidingly supported in a pair of horizontally perforated arms 9| and 92 which are part of a fixed support 94 which is secured to the presser foot bar 30 by a set-screw 95. Between the arms SI and 92 the support is provided with a fiat vertical face 96 and the block 89 is in face-to-face contact therewith so that it is maintained in a vertical position as it slides back and forth. Sliding shaft 90 has a pivotal connection with the bar 18 at 98. It will be seen,

therefore, that if the laterally extending arm 80 of the filler-feeder is moved up and down, the filler guide finger 8:1 will be moved back and forth in front of the needle.

The mechanism for moving the arm 80 up and down includes a lever pivoted on a horizontal shaft 30 which has its bearings in the bosses till, I 02 of the housing 38. The said lever preferably consists of two separate arms I04, I05 adjustably secured to the shaft I00. The outer end of the arm I04 is provided with a yoke I06 which engages a cam I08 adjustably secured to the transverse shaft 44 by set-screws I09. As shaft .44 rotates. the lever comprising the arms I04 and I05 will be oscillated. As best seen in Fig. 4, the outer end of arm I05 has a pivotal connection through a pin I ID with a link III, the lower end of which is coupled through a pin H2 with a block H4 adjustably secured to a vertically reciprocable rod H5 slidably mounted in arms H6, 1 l8 which may be integral with the housing 33. To prevent rotation of the rod H5, block H4 is provided with a notch H9 which engages a fixed rod I20 also mounted in arms H6, H8. Other means could obviously be used for preventing rotation of rod H5, such as providing it with a key or forming it with a noncircular cross-section. At its lower end below the arm H8, rod H5 carries a channel member I2 I, the open side of this channel facing toward the front of the machine. In the channel there is a slide I22 which has a pivotal connection with arm at I24. Member I2I is secured to rod H5 by a set-screw I25 so that it can be adjusted and alined. It will be observed that this sliding connection between the reciprocating rod i l5 and the laterally extending arm 80 of the filler-feeder permits the filler-feeder to be moved laterally in accordance with the movement of bar '18 without affecting the swing which results from the rotation of cam I08.

Operation the work. The side of the stitch, either right or left, at which the finger 84 may be at this point may be changed by rotating cam I08 on shaft 4- through Various stitching designs may be produced having different ornamental effects through different combinations of the fillerfeeder position and the tension on the filler and stitching threads at the time when the stitch is produced. As the needle bar is laterally shifted to form a pattern through the action initiated by cam 29, the filler-feeder is simultaneously shifted so that its mean position follows the mean position of the needle axis. The actuation of the filler-feeder being independent of the lateral vibratory movement of the needle produced by the variable eccentric 40, the action of the filler-feeder remains constant notwithstanding changes in the extent of this lateral vibration.

While the invention has been described as illustrated in the present preferred embodiment thereof, it is obvious that numerous detailed changes of construction might be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a sewing machine of the type having con-, tinuously rotating, horizontal main and trans-.

verse shafts from which a vertically reciprocating, laterally vibrating needle bar is actuated; filler-feeding mechanism comprising a lever supported between its ends on a horizontal pivot, driving means connecting one end of said lever with said transverse shaft to oscillate the lever as the shaft rotates thereby causing the other end to move vertically, a filler-feeder having downwardly and laterally extending arms and rotatably supported at the junction of its arms on a horizontal pivot in the vicinity of the needle bar, said downwardly extending arm comprising filler guiding means, and means connecting the laterally extending arm with the other end of said lever, whereby the vertical movement of said other i end produces a lateral swinging movement of guiding means.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said driving means consists of a cam on said transverse shaft and a yoke on said lever engaging the cam.

Mechanism according to claim 2 wherein the position of said cam on the transverse shaft is adjustable to alter the timing of the filler-feeder with relation to the reciprocation of the needle bar.

l. Mechanism according to claim 1 wherein the means connecting the said other end of the lever with the laterally extending arm of the fillerfeeder comprises a vertically reciprocable rod, a connection between said other end and said rod, a member in which said rod is adapted to slide, a channel member carried by the end of said rod adjacent the end of said arm, and means carried by the end of said arm slidably engaging the channel in said channel member.

5. Mechanism according to claim 4 wherein means are provided for preventing rotation of said rod about its axis.

6. In a sewing machine of the type having a vertically reciprocable needle bar, a guide frame therefor, and mechanism to concurrently produce lateral shifting and lateral vibration of said frame, said mechanism including a rotating pattern cam and a horizontal transverse shaft from which said cam and said vibration producing in chanism are driven; filler-feeding mechanism comprising a filler-feeder having downwardly and laterally extending arms, a laterally shiftable member providing a horizontal pivotal support for said feeder, a fixed support for said member, means controlled by said cam for shifting said member, a lever supported between its ends on a horizontal pivot, driving means connecting one end of said lever with said transverse shaft to oscillate the lever as said shaft rotates, a vertically reciprocable member actuated from the other end of said lever, and a horizontally slidable connection between said reciprocable member and the end of said laterally extending arm of the filler-feeder.

7. Mechanism according to claim 6 wherein said fixed support is provided with a vertically disposed flat surface extending at right angles to the line of stitching, a pair of arms at either side of said surface extending rearwardly of the machine and perforated horizontally, and a shaft slidably mounted in said perforated arms and fixed to said laterally shiftable member, said shiftable member having face to face contact with said fiat surface, whereby the pivotal support provided by said member for the filler-feeder is maintained in its horizontal position.

8. In a sewing machine of the type having a presser foot bar, a vertically reciprocable needle bar, a guide frame therefor, and mechanism to concurrently produce lateral shifting and lateral vibration of said frame, said mechanism includ ing a rotating pattern cam and a horizontal transverse shaft from which said cam and said vibration producing mechanism are driven; fillerfeeding mechanism comprising a filler-feeder having downwardly and laterally extending arms, a laterally shiftable member providing a horizontal pivotal support for said feeder, a fixed support for said member carried by said presser foot bar, means controlled by said cam for shifting said member, a lever supported between its ends on a horizontal pivot, driving means connecting one end of said lever with said transverse shaft to oscillate the lever as said shaft rotates, a vertically reciprocable rod actuated from the other end of said lever, and a horizontally slidable connection between said rod and the end of said laterally extending arm of the filler-feeder.

9. Filler-feeding mechanism for attachment to a sewing machine of the zigzag type which has an arm, a rotating transverse shaft and a presser foot bar, comprising: a cam for attachment to said shaft, a housing for attachment to said arm, said housing having a horizontal pivot, a lever centrally mounted on said pivot and having at one end a yoke to engage said cam, a Vertically sliding shaft supported on said housing, a driving connection between the other end of said lever and said sliding shaft, a support adapted to be secured to the presser foot bar, a filler-feeder having laterally and downwardly extending arms pivotally mounted on said support, and means connecting said laterally extending arm with said sliding shaft.

VICTOR J. SIGODA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 735,559 Mueller Aug. 4, 1903 1,207,437 Parkes Dec. 5, 1916 1,267,594 Rogers May 28, 1918 2,365,222 Sigoda Dec. 19, 1944 

